Test of new system at McDonald’s junction in August
A trial on a system intended to ease the traffic congestion associated with the Pearse Street, Castle Street junction in Mullingar (the McDonald’s junction) is to happen in August.
Also on the way is electronic signage that will let motorists know numbers of spaces available in the various car parks in Mullingar. Senior engineer Pat Kavanagh, giving an update on progress at the junction to members of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad at their June meeting, said the traffic modelling and the road safety audit are now complete.
“We’ve had traffic light technicians on site over a couple of days just to check the cable runs and controller panels and things like that,” Mr Kavanagh said, adding that the good news is that all the existing cable ducts can be used, so there’s a minimal amount of work to be done.
“The request for a quotation has been sent out to a specialised contractor for the actual alteration of the signals themselves and I’m expecting that back in the next week, week and a half,” he stated, going on to explain that work will then commence on the installation of temporary bollards and tactile paving at Church Avenue.
His expectation was that the work would take place in July and that by August there should be a three-armed junction in operation,” he stated.
“We’ll trial that over a number of months to see how traffic moves through the town.”
Traffic guidance
Mr Kavanagh said staff are also working on the provision of electronic parking guidance information signs. It is to be trialled for the Church Avenue car park.
“They’ll give you a sort of a heads-up as you drive towards a car park if there’s availability of parking and if there is, how many spaces are available,” he stated.
Mr Kavanagh went on to say that the council is at an advanced stage in its attempts to procure the best type of signage requiring the least amount of civil engineering work – ideally a system that can be run via a sim card.
Cllr Ken Glynn, who has been aggrieved for years at the congestion, which he blames on the removal of the filter lanes to and from Castle Street, said he had reservations as to whether the new measures will sort the issue. “But,” he said, “I’m willing to give it an opportunity because we do need to solve the problem.”
If, however, he does not perceive within a couple of months that it’s working, he would be back pushing for implementation of other options, including re-installation of a roundabout, he stressed.
“We need to finally put this issue to bed, because if you talk to motorists trying to negotiate the town and talk to town centre businesses, they will tell you clearly what’s going on,” he said.
Cllr Andrew Duncan said his views were similar to Cllr Glynn’s: “I think that when the children go back to school in September we’ll know straight away, and if it’s still a problem, I’ll be looking at either the roundabout being reinstated or a left-turning filter lane to Castle Street.”
The new mayor, Cllr Mick Dollard, said the item could be placed on the agenda for review at the October meeting, as at that stage, councillors and council staff would have had the chance to view the system in operation when schools are back.